LSU men’s basketball is getting closer to opening up conference play and there’s a lot of expectations after a decent run in non-conference play. The SEC is going to be one of the conferences that many college basketball fans are going to have to keep an eye on with the amount of talented teams from top to bottom.
With that in mind, let’s break down the season so far and talk about what this Tigers team needs to do in order to make it to the big dance.
Strong Start to Season
The Tigers 2018-19 season slate was pretty impressive, even when you look at the losses. Sure the way the Advocare Invitational ended with a wacky loss to a pretty good Florida State team and a disheartening loss to Oklahoma State, 10-3 headed into the meat of the schedule isn’t anything to scoff at.
Obviously, one of the more impressive wins by the Tigers in non-conference has to be the win over then-undefeated Furman. When it gets closer to March, that win is probably going to mean a lot more in terms of the new NET rating instead of what was previously used (RPI). In fact, the Tigers are ranked 26th in the NET rating headed into conference play and that looms huge if they can keep the momentum going.
Waters Navigating Ebbs and Flows
Yeah, I made a water pun when referring to Tremont Waters. Honestly, it was a little too easy. That being said, the sophomore is starting to find his role on this team and he’s been an integral part of this offense. Sure he hasn’t eclipsed 30 points like he did last season against Marquette, but he doesn’t necessarily have to do that with the talent that’s around him.
With Naz Reid and Skylar Mays taking a more prominent role offensively, he has started to become more of a facilitator in the last couple of games. In fact, he was two steals away from earning a triple-double and joining a pretty elite class of LSU players. Waters has been one of the best Tigers over the last couple of seasons and he’ll continue to do just that for a Tigers program that headed into the 2018-19 season with a lot of expectations.
Stop the Road Woes
Did you know that at the time of this article goes out, it’s been almost a year since the LSU Tigers won a game on the road? You heard me right, they’ve gone 0-9 since January 10th of last year when playing a true road game.
The schedule is going to be rough to start on the road with a 10-3 Arkansas and an 11-2 Ole Miss team both being on the road after starting things off with an Alabama team that just beat the Kentucky Wildcats. If they can get the proverbial monkey off their back and win one of these early road trips, they should fare better once the calendar flips to February.
Overall Thoughts
This team has all the tools to make it to the big dance, they just need to be able to execute when the bright lights turn on starting on Tuesday night. The conference of Dixie isn’t as top-heavy as it has been in recent years, meaning that Will Wade is going to have to get these guys motivated and ready to go. That being said, having extra time off between the UL Monroe game and the conference opener against Alabama certainly gives you more than enough time to make all the right adjusments.
-Clint Domingue